What do you believe?

One of my definitions is from the Bible (Hebrews 11:1) Yes, God told Abraham what to do. Believing that He was God and should be followed took faith. Faith, in the dictionary, is a noun. And I agree that it doesn't have to be blind faith. That's been my major point in several previous threads. Evidence, yes, but not proof, in the courtroom or scientific senses. It still takes faith to go along with any voice that tells you to gather your family and belongings, move to a strange land, and sacrifice your son.

 

And then be told "PSYCHE!!!" :afro:

 

It's faith that those prior experiences, as recorded by various ancient authors, many anonymous, are reliable. That's powerful faith, without a lot of evidence--although there is some. I wouldn't put it in the class with the scientific evidence the folks here are talking about. Did Jesus exist? I think so, on the basis of the available evidence. Did He say and do the things he's credited with? That's where a lot of faith comes in.

 

If any man take a wife, and go in unto her, and hate her,

And give occasions of speech against her, and bring up an evil name upon her, and say, I took this woman, and when I came to her, I found her not a maid:

Then shall the father of the damsel, and her mother, take and bring forth the tokens of the damsel's virginity unto the elders of the city in the gate:

And the damsel's father shall say unto the elders, I gave my daughter unto this man to wife, and he hateth her;

And, lo, he hath given occasions of speech against her, saying, I found not thy daughter a maid; and yet these are the tokens of my daughter's virginity. And they shall spread the cloth before the elders of the city.

And the elders of that city shall take that man and chastise him;

And they shall amerce him in an hundred shekels of silver, and give them unto the father of the damsel, because he hath brought up an evil name upon a virgin of Israel: and she shall be his wife; he may not put her away all his days.

But if this thing be true, and the tokens of virginity be not found for the damsel:

Then they shall bring out the damsel to the door of her father's house, and the men of her city shall stone her with stones that she die: because she hath wrought folly in Israel, to play the whore in her father's house: so shalt thou put evil away from among you.

Tl;dr: Old testament hates freedom.

 

Is the essence of faith the same as a manifestation of faith? Accepting a premise and applying a premise are not the same thing.

 

I agree.